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Chris Turner ... is a hero.
And in the best tradition of heroes, he credits others for his success in defending his friends and co-workers. The surprising part is that these 'others' include United Nations troops, a group which has not enjoyed a good reputation, and Afghan guards.
For two hours, a civilian contractor held off Taliban commandos with an AK-47, saving the lives of 24 people in a Kabul, Afghanistan, guest house. But while others are praising Chris Turner’s courage, the 62-year-old former hippie refuses to be called a hero.“The real heroes were the three U.N. guards and the Afghan guards who lost their lives defending all of us,” Turner told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira Thursday from Kabul.
In the predawn darkness a day earlier, Turner and more than two dozen others who lived in a walled compound in Kabul were violently awakened by explosions and small-arms fire. The Taliban, who had been concentrating their attacks in the countryside outside the capital, had targeted the compound, where many United Nations workers were living while preparing to monitor a run-off presidential election.
Turner, the only one in the compound who was armed (with an AK-47) except for the guards, rallied the other residents in a escape from their residence to a relatively safe area, and then single-handedly mounted an armed defense against Taliban attackers, including suicide bombers, until relieved.
In the U.S. Military, such initiative, bravery and selfless devotion would be deserving of a prestigious medal.
Surely a sterling performance, especially from a self-styled "former Hippie". But Turner's modesty is commensurate with the demeanor of Alvin York and Audie Murphy ... to illustrate American heroes from both World Wars. Both of these men, American Infantrymen, earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty."
But Turner is a civilian: there is no expectation of "conspicuous gallantry" in any sense, let alone in comparison to "the call of duty".
An untrained ex-hippie, who measures up to the accomplishments of the two most exemplary American Military Heroes, sure deserves nothing less from his government than the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an award of the President of the United States of America ...
... the foremost U.S. civilian decoration, awarded to individuals who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
I cannot conceive of any other individual to date more deserving of recognition by President Obama in this time of terrible conflict against terrorists and suicide bombers than an American Civilian who defends his civilian colleagues against the attempted predations of the Taliban.
After all, President George W. Bush awarded the Medal of Freedom to radio comentator Paul Harvey.
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